Happy 50th anniversary to my parents!

Ammi Abba got married on May 10, 1976. And ten days ago was there golden jubilee. We couldn’t celebrate, there was some “stuff” going on in the family. But we didn’t want to NOT celebrate it, y’know what I mean?

So, yesterday, my younger sister called.

“Tomorrow is my 9th wedding anniversary. It’s not a big deal, but let’s use this as an excuse to celebrate mum and dad’s anniversary.”

I thought it was a good idea. So, I started making calls. There’s a south Indian restaurant The Udupi that I really like. Since our last party there, I’ve been meaning to take my parents there.

Plans were finalized.

Today, we coordinated our timing. A bunch of us took a rickshaw there and placed first round of order. By the time the food arrived, almost everyone was there: My parents, my brother and his family, my younger sisters and their families, my older sister and her family, and me. Ours was the largest group at the restaurant so even the owner had to step in to expedite service 😛

We had dosas, cold cofee, hot coffee, idlis… The options were a bit limited because it’s a south Indian restaurant, which my brother did NOT like. He’s like: party kiya toh chicken khao, meat khao. Except him, everyone else had a blast. Sadly, all the pictures in my phone have faces I don’t want to reveal, so I can’t share any photos.

While we were finishing our meal, my cousin came in. It wasn’t planned; he just brought his family for an outing. So it was a nice reunion of sorts. I paid for everyone, of course.

Now that we’re all home. I realized how important such outings are. My parents are obviously reluctant to go out, but they also enjoyed it.

Next stop: Mulla Ki Biryani (a very famous Biryani shop not too far from home) but that’s when the weather has cooled down a bit.

Shabana Mukhtar